1. Field
The present general inventive concept relates to a substrate for detecting samples, a bio-chip employing the substrate, and a method of fabricating the substrate, and more particularly, to a substrate for detecting samples, which is used for spectroscopically detecting a sample, a bio-chip employing the substrate, and a method of fabricating the substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical bio-chips have a structure in which micro-sized cells are arranged on a substrate in a matrix shape, wherein each of the cells includes biogenic organic materials such as nucleotide or protein. Bio-materials fixed on the substrate of the bio-chip are typically probe bio-materials that operate as biological receptors of target bio-materials.
Bio-chips may detect the target bio-materials via several different methods, such as via a hybridization reaction of nucleotides or interaction between bio-materials such as antigen-antibody interaction. The bio-chips may be used to research functions of genes, to search for illness-related genes, to analyze gene expression, to analyze protein distribution by detecting the bio-materials such as nucleotide or protein having a specific sequence, or various other uses.
When present, interaction between the bio-materials may be detected using a fluorescence detection method. The fluorescence detection method is a spectroscopic method of detecting fluorescent images by irradiating predetermined excitation lights on fluorescent materials tagged on the bio-materials. The detection of the fluorescent images is made using an optical scanning apparatus such as a photo-multiplier tube (“PMT”), a charge-coupled device (“CCD”) scanner or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”) Image sensor (“CIS”) scanner.
Fluorescent light obtained by irradiating predetermined excitation light onto fluorescent material tagged on bio-materials are much weaker than the excitation light and are emitted non-directionally, and intensity of fluorescent light detected by a photodetector may therefore be very weak. In addition, since the bio-materials are highly concentrated on the substrate and the fluorescent light is emitted non-directionally, the detected fluorescent image may be blurred by the fluorescent light emitted from the material tagged on a neighboring bio-material. Therefore, reliability of the detection results may be degraded.